Toe pledget



July 15, 1952 s, z v 2,603,212

TOE PLEDGET FilEd Sept. 28, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR fol/[Z90 0 ATTORNEY y 1952 s. H. ZEVE 2,603,212

TOE PLEDGET Filed Sept. 28, 1950 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented July 15, 1952 UNITED STATES Parent Q-EFiCf-E roe PLEDGE? iSolH;Zeve,Brolu;,;li?. ipplicationseptember 28, iescrsejriei-nt.rsrgrsz- This invention relates to toepads'or pledg ets, and particularly to articles of this character, for placing between the toes of a human foot to prevent irritation or to alleviate irritated conditions which have already developed.

In this modern age the disease known as athleteis foot is a commonailment and one which is difficult to cure. Numerous products are on the market for curative purposes but their success is sporadic and uncertain and a remedy which is effective for one personis'ineiiectivev for another; Slight irritation betweenthe toes caused by perspiration and'accumulated debris, even in the absence of fungi, causing'ringworm or athletes foot, is a cause of ill-smelling feet and severe itching which, if protracted; "may result in aggravateddnfection such as athletes foot and similar diseases.

I have discovered that whereas expensive and complicated remedies have been proposed and used, it is possible to guard against the occurrence of irritation and infection by theuseofasimple and inexpensive product in the form of a soft, separating medium disposed'betweenthewtoesand anatomically molded and contoured to fit the spaces therebetween. Such a separator may or may not be medicated and ishi'ghly effective to either anticipate and prevent'the occurrence of irritation or infection, or alleviate such iniection once it has occurred.

The object of the invention is therefore; to provide an "anatomically molded pad or pledget capable of separating the toes andpreventing irritation of the same.

A further'object of the invention is to provide a; simple noneirritating disposable "separator which can be'treated to perform a medicating action While assisting ventilation; between the toes.

Still another object is to provide a pledget which can be worn with complete comfort.

Numerous other objects-and advantages will be evident as the following specification, is read iii-conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which Figure lis a top plan view of a portion of a human foot with pads or pledgets embodying the present invention disposed between certain Qfthetoes, p

Figure 2 is a detailed view showing one side of the pledget, and its relation to one of the adjacent toes.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 looking from the opposite direction.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of a portion of 1 aolaims. (craze-81) dhuma'n 'fo'otxshowing .pledgets of the present invention disposed between all of the v toes f'of the foot. i l

F-igure 5 is a 'se'ctionxon line 51-1-5 0f Figure '1". Figure 6 is: a detailed view. of a; contoured pledg'etembodyingithe lpresentiinventicn looking from one side thereof;

Figure 7-is a-bottom lviewaofjthe pledg'et shown in Figured. v

Figure 8 is a section taken onllinar8x+filiof Figure 6. v

Figure 9' is aside view ofthe-pledget similar to that shown in Figure-B, but of smaller size.

Figure 10 is a section on line; iiill of Figure 9, and I V Figure; 11 is a bottomplan-viewof 'thepledget shown inFig-u-re 9.

Referring to the 'drawingsz'r eference character 12 designates a humanfoothaving anorma-l toe structure in which the great toe is designated t3, the secondtoe Hi, the third-toe [5, the fourth toe I6 and. the little'toe l1. Interposed between the great-toe l3 and the second toe I4 is a: pad or pledget l8. of'the present invention, and preferably composed of a soft pliable absorbent'material such as cotton. The. Qssentialcharacter istics of, the m'aterialare that it be. so and non-irritating t0. the skin in the inter-digital pa es-an hat. it heabsorbentnQt nly o per? spiration wh ch may collect between, the toe butalso to any medication materials which are applied tdit. While a soIt-fabricjmaterialhav ing thei characteristic of, cotton is. prelrablegthe invention is who means limited to thisparticular material as numerous .natural or 1 synthetic products will, be foundusefulinpracticing 'the invention. V A

Bywayof i stration :Eisure 1'. s owsy w n n ts l8; only in nositiombm itv will lie-obvious thatany number may beyused depending; upon the condition to bermet. Aftypic'al configuration of a normal human foot-with pledgets disposed in all, of :the interdigital spaces is: shown in Figure4.- 1

In utilizingztheinvention tothe bestadvantage the pads 01; pledgets aremolded" and preshaped to fit accuratelyinto the V inter-digital spaces f a normal humantfoot. They are, however t-gof such material; that if-theinter -digitalspaces of the wearer differ somewhat in shape from those of an absolutely normal foot they Will conform to and become molded to accurately and comfortably fit the feet of the wearer. In this way maximum comfort is obtained at a 3 minimum cost, because it is not necessary to have a special fitting for each individual.

It appears to be a popular misunderstanding that human feet vary greatly in configuration, while it is a fact that such is not the case. The size of the feet of various individuals may vary greatly but the interdigital spaces of the feet present substantially the same configuration varying only in size where the foot is normal, that is, free from malformation at birth or from injury. This will be evident from Figures 2 and 3, showing a pledget viewed from opposite sides in the two figures. It will be observed that the pledget l8 has at its forward or outer portion and also at its top and bottom, a configuration approximating that of the toe against which it presses. The rearward portion of the pledget on the other hand is more or less triangular as indicated at l9. Likewise the bottom portion 20 is of somewhat triangular form so that the area between these two parts presents a peculiar curved formation where it contacts the root of the interdigital space designated 2| in Figure 2. Thus it is possible to provide pledgets of the same configuration yet of varying size, which will assume accurately the contour of the foot of the wearer without detailedpreshaping operations. When placed in position the pledget becomes anatomically molded to the precise shape of the foot area of the wearer.

Reference to Figure 4 will indicate how these pledgets look when they are subjected to lateral pressure from the adjacent toes, and to upward pressure from the surface against which the foot carrying these pledgets rests. Again viewed in cross section the pledgets appear as in Figures 5, 8 and 10, approximating a dumbbell shape,- the abruptness of the curvature depending somewhat upon the resiliency of the material and its initial thickness, and also depending upon the toe formation of the wearer.

While it has been indicated above that the pledgets of the present invention may or may not be medicated, it will be preferable in most instances to perform such medication and such is contemplated.

Inasmuch as irritated interdigital spaces usually result from an acid condition, it is well to include in the antiseptic medicating material an agent capable of counteracting that condition, and it is therefore contemplated that numerous ingredients may be provided to suit particular situations. For instance the pad or pledget may be saturated or mildly treated with a deodorant, an astringent and cooling agent, or with a germicide and antiseptic fungicide. Alternately compatible materials having all of these properties may be included together.

Purely by way of illustration and without limitation to the particular material used, it has been found that representative materials suited to various conditions are as follows:

Ingredient Function deodorant. astringent and cooling.

. germicidal.

antiseptic and astringent. astringent.

germicidal-fungicidal. antiseptic.

4 In the case of the application of the pledgets to the feet of a person seriously aiilicted with athlete's foot, the use of a specific medication may be desirable. An example of such a medication is as follows:

Per cent Zinc undecylenate 15 Undecylenic acid 3 Talc U. S. P. 82

The above examples are given purely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

It will be understood that the pledgets of the present invention can be tinted if desired to suit any particular situation. For example they may be flesh-tinted where they are to be worn with open toed shoes, and the sizes may be varied to suit various sizes of feet. They are initially formed and shaped to suit the general contour of a normal foot and then are molded to a precise fit when placed in position between the toes of the wearer. It will be understood that these pads are more or less wedge-shaped in formation so as to enter the Web or interdigital space between the toes without causing skin irritation, and yet providing sufiicient separation of the toes to preventfriction. They may or may not be treated with a medication and will be anatomically molded to a precise fit when they have been worn for a short period.

Thus it is evident that I have provided a simple but effective means of not only treating skin diseases between the toes but preventing the same by eliminating the factors which lead to irritation and disease. The invention is applicable not only to serious conditions which have developed, but also in anticipating such conditions, and in eliminating completely and simply all of the undesirable characteristics of malodorous feet.

Having thus described my invention what is claimed is:

l. A medicated toe pledget comprising a thin elongated absorbent member having the approximate outline of a human toe, the sides of said member being provided with a hollow approximating the shape of an ellipsoidal concavity and the rear of said member being provided at its upper end with a rearwardly extending curved portion.

2. A toe separating pledget comprising a thin fiat absorbent body shaped to fit between the toes of a human foot, and having a rearward portion fitting into the root of said space and holding the toes apart, said pledget having sides provided with a hollow approximating the shape of an ellipsoidal concavity and being sufliciently pliable to be molded into the space where it lies. by the action of the toes which it separates.

SOL H. ZEVE.

REFERENCES CITED v The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,930,413 Bruel Oct. 10, 1933 2,522,216 I Ebberts Sept. 12, 1950 

